‘Rolly setting up group to fight graft, corruption in government’

Former New People’s Army (NPA) chieftain Romulo Kintanar was planning to set up a group that would fight corruption, a relative said yesterday.

"He was about to organize a group to help the Arroyo administration implement reforms in government as promised by President Arroyo and eliminate graft and corruption," Cebu City Councilor Vicente Kintanar, the slain former rebel leader’s second cousin, said.

Vicente, like the rest of his clan, expressed shock upon learning of Kintanar’s assassination Thursday.

"We can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill him," Vicente said.

He said that in his phone conversations with the 52-year-old Kintanar, the former rebel never mentioned any threats to his life.

Vicente described the slain Kintanar as idealistic and said this was the reason why he had joined the communist movement during martial law in the 1970s.

The slain man’s father, lawyer Florentino Kintanar of Argao, Cebu, and mother Rita settled in Kidapawan, Cotabato in the 1950s.

In his college years the young Kintanar dropped out of the Ateneo de Davao and joined the communist movement.

He rose through the ranks, becoming chief of staff of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. But he later distanced himself from the main communist movement due to internal differences.

After being granted amnesty by the government in the 1990s, he settled down to capitalist life, becoming a businessman distributing Cebu’s famous mangoes nationwide. During this time, Kintanar worked with Fr. Edicio dela Torre, then chairman of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Prior to his assassination, Kintanar was working as a technical assistant for security to Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

He was also reportedly the security chief of the Bureau of Immigration and a consultant at the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

According to Vicente, Kintanar dreamt of gaining economic independence for the welfare of his family and provide for his children’s education.

The slain Kintanar is survived by four children from his first wife, who was among the scores who perished when the M/V Doña Paz sank in the Visayas seas on Dec, 20, 1987.

Vicente said Kintanar had been very focused on his mango distribution business, adding that the slain former rebel had no plans of rejoining the communist insurgency.

Kintanar, Vicente said, was responsible, generous, kind, disciplined and had no vices.

As the investigation into Kintanar’s assassination continues, Vicente said he and the rest of the Kintanar family want the former rebel’s killers brought to justice.

"We pray that the killers are caught and the true motive for his assassination is uncovered. May his soul rest in peace," Vicente said.

Kintanar was shot dead inside the Kamameshi House restaurant at the Quezon City Memorial Circle at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Kintanar and his three companions had just finished their lunch when two gunmen posing as customers approached Kintanar’s table, casually pulled out their guns and opened fire.

Police investigators said Kintanar may have recognized his assailants before they opened fire and tried to run when they shot him. As he lay bleeding on the restaurant floor, one of the suspects shot him again to make sure he was dead.

His companions, Edward Ruiz and Ricky Beltran, were hit by stray bullets, possibly as a result of Kinatanar’s efforts to evade his attackers, and are now confined at the Philippine Heart Center. — Freeman News Service